Okay, here's the story about my "brush with the law" in Helen. We've been on the road for almost a week and we ran out of clean clothes. Our motel (the Quality Inn) in Helen doesn't have a laundromat. The nearest public laundromat is across town. A quick search on the internet showed that the hotel nearby had coin operated washer & dryer. So, I headed over and posed as a guest of that hotel and started a load of clothes. The desk clerk sold me laundry detergent and needed my room number to post the charges, even though I had paid cash. I told her my room number at the hotel next door. She said they didn't have a room by that number. I told her I would call her with the correct number and dashed off. I'm a fugitive.
For the next two hours I worked out in the fitness room and lurked in the stairwell avoiding contact with the clerk. My biggest fear was that I would be busted and sent on my way with wet clothes. Sid told me I was on camera the whole time and the Helen police would meet me on my way out. It really made me nervous...but our clothes are clean and dry!
We started Day 7 heading toward North Carolina. I loved this scene of the cattle grazing along side the mountain stream at the base of Blood Mountain in Georgia. You can't even see the mountains in the background because of the fog.
Just two days ago, this place was sunny and gorgeous. This morning it looked like a scene from a scary movie.
We left Georgia and headed to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with this layer of fog hanging over the mountains. It wasn't long before we discovered we were lost, but didn't know it. We were in Dillsboro when we stopped for breakfast and determined we didn't really mean to be there. A few adjustments and we found a shortcut to the parkway.
Just outside of Waynesville, NC we found ourselves on Cold Mountain, the setting for the book and the movie. This valley was so pretty. Highway 276 led us up to the Blue Ridge Parkway near Mount Pisgah.
When we arrived at the Blue Ridge Parkway, it felt like I had come home.
There was something about this photo of the tunnel that made me start humming Folsom Prison Blues for most of the day.
"I hear the train a comin'
It's rolling round the bend
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when,
I'm stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin' on."
Sid must have thought I had totally lost it!
I've had the pleasure of visiting the parkway every year since 2005. Some years I may only travel a few miles of the parkway, as we did in 2007, or I may travel the entire length, as we did in 2006. It doesn't matter, it feels great to be back. I won't bore you with photos of the mountains, but I will show my more creative shots taken in the many parkway tunnels. The photo above is my favorite.
After a long, long day we were gratified to see Big Lynn Lodge just off the parkway. Here's our ride under a tree overlooking Catawba River Valley. We look forward to a restful evening here.
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